Kendrick Lamar, Bono, the Edge open the Grammys with fiery 'XXX' performance

Sitting at a piano draped in oversized feathers - which looked reminiscent of angel wings - Lady Gaga started her performance by saying, "This is for my father's late sister, Joanne".

Hip-hop superstar Jay-Z entered the night with a field-leading eight nominations, including for Album, Record and Song of the Year.

Kendrick Lamar kicked off the 60 Annual Grammy Awards with a fiery performance that literally set the stage on fire, once again using his music to highlight the plague of systemic racism and police brutality against African Americans in the country.

The singer won all of the awards he was nominated for with his energetic and upbeat 90s-inspired R&B album.

Lamar beat out Jay-Z for the five awards he won. But he lost out to Taylor Swift. The rapper said "hip-hop has done that" for him.

"They are my teachers, my foundation; this album wouldn't exist without them", said Mars, who expressed hope his album would inspire feelings of love and joy in his listeners.

It was painfully reminiscent of last year's Grammys, when Jay-Z's wife, Beyoncé, had a field-leading nine nominations and only won in two minor categories.

"This song is about me finding peace in the fact that I can't control everything - because trying to control everyone was killing me", she wrote past year. "Jay-Z, Nas, Puff - they showed me the game through their lyrics up close and from afar".

"Thank you to my parents and my brother for believing in me", she said, also urging the crowd to "support real music and real artists because everyone deserves the same shot".

Cara has quickly found her voice as a singer with singles such as "Here", which describes the dread of forced emotions at a party, and "Scars to Your Beautiful", a call for healthy body image.

Country singer Reba McEntire and Americana music band The Mavericks were among those wearing white roses as a symbol of solidarity with victims of sexual harassment, as the Time's Up movement spread from Hollywood to the music industry.

Following Adele's massive success a year ago, it was largely a night of disappointment for British nominees but absentee Ed Sheeran did win best pop vocal album with Divide and solo performance with Shape Of You.

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